The Best Birthday
by dragonwings948
Summary: It's Clara's birthday, but the Doctor doesn't realize the importance of this certain date...or does he? A fluffy-friendship one-shot written for Left-Handed Lemon's birthday!


**A/N: So...I wrote this as a birthday present for Left-Handed Lemon. I'm a few days late, but...better late than never? **

**[Hope you like it! I especially made it birthday themed. :D I just knew I had to do something special because I've enjoyed talking to you, reading your stories, and running the blogs so much. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :D]**

**I know the timeline doesn't really make sense since Clara's birthday is November 23rd and Season 9 obviously hasn't aired yet, but just bear with me this one time. **

Clara pushed open the door to her flat, sighing as her eyes roamed over the empty living room. In the past, her birthday had been a day to look forward to. Friends had been with her to celebrate, and more recently the Doctor had taken her somewhere extra special and told her how important she was to the world and to him.

But that was _before _he changed.

Of course, she had come to love this new version of him too. She enjoyed teasing him and bickering with him, poking fun at his all too serious and literal nature. And he had moments; just tiny little glimpses where he would let his guard down so she could see how much he respected her, how much he cared for her.

Yet, though a wonderful man, Clara highly doubted that he would remember something as trivial as her birthday.

So now, the day consisted of an overall quiet breakfast with her dad and then…nothing. She had no close friends to share the day with, and the Doctor might not even show up either.

Clara sighed once more and walked toward her room. If she asked the Doctor to come, he would. She knew he would. He had been much more sensitive to her requests since last Christmas, and though he never admitted to such, she suspected it was because he felt guilty about leaving her for so long.

She shoved her arm against the door, laden with three gift bags from her dad, and paused as the door clunked against something solid. Before Clara's mind even had time to piece it together, a familiar creak sounded and the Doctor appeared in front of her, his eyes wide and bulging.

"How many times have I told you not to hit her like that?" He ran to the point of impact, pushing the door back toward Clara.

Clara caught the door with her foot and squeezed her way into the room, depositing her load at the foot of her bed. "How many times have _I_ told _you_ not to park the TARDIS there?" she quipped.

"No damage done," the Doctor announced, rubbing the side of the TARDIS affectionately. "Really, you should get that door put in a different place."

Clara rolled her eyes. "I've told you, I can't do that. I don't actually _own _the flat. And even if I did, do you know how much that would cost? I have a whole flat, Doctor. You can park the TARDIS just about anywhere else."

"She likes it here," he countered. Before she could protest further, the Doctor pushed the TARDIS door open and waved her forward.

Clara followed without question, so eager to get away from the emptiness of her flat. "Where are we going?"

"A place," he said carelessly, heading straight to the console.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Clara shut the door behind her slowly. "Just a place? That's not like you." She crossed her arms over her chest and sauntered toward the center of the control room. "Aren't you going to tell me all about it?"

"It's a surprise. Don't humans like those? Surprises?" He turned a lever and the TARDIS began to groan and wheeze, the lights brightening.

Clara chuckled. "Maybe not from you," she muttered as she reached the console. She looked him over, wondering why he was acting differently. He was wearing his favorite outfit; the navy coat and collared white shirt with black trousers. Nothing seemed out of place, except…

"Doctor?" Clara approached him and poked a finger at a white smudge on his shoulder, standing out against his dark clothing. He furrowed his bushy eyebrows at her and leaned away from her touch.

Clara looked to see that a few white particles had transferred from his coat to her finger. She rubbed her forefinger and thumb together, frowning. "Is that flour?"

"And why, Miss Oswald, would I have flour on my coat?" He sighed like it was an impossible occurrence that could never happen.

"I don't know." She pointed a finger at him. "But I'm going to find out. There's something you're not telling me." Could he really know? Could it be that he _had _actually remembered how this date was significant?

The Doctor's next sigh and the words that followed obliterated those hopes. "The planet is nothing special. I…helped out there a long time ago so I want to go back and make sure that everything's running fine."

"Why take me, then?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"Fair enough." As if on cue, the TARDIS materialized and then grew silent.

The Doctor gestured to the doors. "Well?"

Clara cocked her head at him. _"Well _it's the planet that _you _wanted to go to."

"I thought you liked opening the door," the Doctor countered.

He really was acting strange. He had something up his sleeve. "I do, I just thought…" She trailed off as she looked into his eyes, a subtle mirth shining beneath the initial air of indifference. What was he up to?

"Go on, I'll follow you in a minute." The Doctor grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face the TARDIS doors, giving her a gentle shove in their direction.

Clara cast him one more odd look, but he was too enwrapped in the console monitor. She shook her head at him and opened the door. She paused for a moment, awestruck at the scene before her.

A magnificent cliff jutted out several meters in front of the TARDIS, dropping off sharply to an endless expanse below that stretched to the horizon. Three large suns shone bright in the green-tinted sky, but they seemed to have no effect on the chilled weather. However, the breathtaking part wasn't just the view. The landscape was covered with blooming flowers. Not one inch of the ground could be seen beneath the scarlet petals of the innocent plants stretching their yellow centers towards the sky.

Clara looked down, hesitant to step out and crush the delicate plants underneath her feet. Yet, she wanted to step out onto the rise and gaze over the ground below her.

Carefully, she edged the toe of her shoe in between the petals of several flowers, feeling the ball of her foot level out on solid ground. She stepped her other foot out of the TARDIS in the same manner, smiling as the silky petals brushed her ankles. She raised her foot again but lost her balance, slamming her toes back onto the ground to steady herself.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she looked back at the flowers she had crushed. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, as if they could hear her. How was she to know? Maybe they understood her.

However, upon lifting up her shoe to see the damage, the flowers sprung right back up as if nothing had ever happened. Clara lifted her whole foot up to see that the process was repeated.

"Now that's clever." She stepped on top of the flowers then, looking back to make sure they were unharmed as she made her way to the cliff's edge.

The sight took her breath away. The flowers covered the entire surface of the land below, too, peaking in mountains shaped like perfect pyramids. It was like the world was blanketed in red.

"Justice Alpha."

Clara was so used to the Doctor suddenly appearing out of nowhere that his voice didn't startle her. "Is that the planet?" she wondered without turning around.

"Yes. I came here, a long time ago. It's been a few thousand years for the planet. It's changed quite a bit since then. The last time I was here…there was only one flower, and there were slaves building those pyramids there. I might have fixed some things."

"I'm sure you did." Clara smiled, picturing him seeing this place for the first time, watching the injustice taking place, and immediately springing into action. It might have been a different face, but she had seen them all, and she knew that flash of anger in his eyes when he saw something he didn't like.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "You should probably turn around now because standing here like this is a bit awkward."

Clara wondered what he meant and turned to see a sight which, perhaps, was even more extraordinary than a planet covered in flowers. The Doctor held a perfectly decorated cake in both of his hands while a rectangular object covered in festive purple wrapping balanced on his arm. A red and white checkered blanket hung over his shoulder, clashing with his dark coat.

Clara was aware that her mouth was actually hanging open. "Doctor…you…you remembered." She wasn't sure why it meant so much to her, but suddenly she wanted to run at him and hug him tight (and would have, if he wasn't holding the cake).

His lips curved upward in a small, modest smile as his blue eyes steadily gazed at her. "How could I forget such an important day in history as your birthday?" He dropped his gaze to the cake and shifted his weight onto one foot.

Clara never failed to be left speechless when he said things like that, and this time was no different. All she could do was stare at him and the perfect little cake he was holding. "Did you make that cake?" she wondered with a smile, trying to picture the Doctor in a kitchen, _baking. _

"Ah, well, the TARDIS helped a bit…okay, maybe a lot." He grinned as he extended the cake towards her. "I thought you wouldn't like to be reminded how old you are so I left out the candles."

Clara giggled and took it from him, examining the perfect swirled designs of white icing. The Doctor grabbed the blanket from his shoulder and spread it out over the ground. Clara set the cake down on it first, and then sat down, smiling at the Doctor as he held the wrapped gift gingerly in his hands.

"Doctor? Did you bring anything to _cut _or _eat _the cake with?"

His forehead creased as he looked down. "Er…no, I'll have to go back to the TARDIS." He sat down across from her, however, and handed over the wrapped gift. "But you should open this first."

Clara laughed. "A present? For me?"

"Isn't that what the pudding brains like to do? Give each other gifts to celebrate being alive one more year?"

"Something like that, yeah." She took the present into her hand and noted it was hard and had a little weight to it. With a glance at the Doctor, she tore at the wrapping paper. "TARDIS help you with the wrapping too?"

"No. I looked it up online."

Clara smiled and stripped away the last of the paper, turning a book over in her hands. She ran her fingers over the hard binding, reading the title _Pride and Prejudice. _It looked like an old book, only it was brand new. She gazed at the Doctor, who nodded.

"Turn to the first page."

She opened up the book and read the title page, restating the name of the book. But underneath was scribbled in a neat hand, "To Clara" and then a signature she could just make out as "Jane Austen." Clara closed the book, slowly, looking back up at the Doctor, who was smiling.

"It's just so that you won't keep stealing my-"

But Clara didn't let him finish because she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you, Doctor," she whispered, blinking against the tears stinging her eyes. She couldn't have asked for a better friend.

The Doctor went rigid underneath her embrace. "I'm glad that worked. I wasn't sure about the whole 'present' thing."

Clara pulled away but held onto his shoulders, grinning at him. "It's perfect, Doctor." She looked over at the flowers extending forever on the planet's surface. "And the planet is beautiful…" But she trailed off as she saw splotches of white dotting the petals of a few flowers. She hadn't noticed that before.

The Doctor followed her gaze and leaned over the closest splotch on a flower right next to their blanket. He touched the white blob with his finger and brought it up to his eyes. "Icing," he announced.

They both turned to where the cake had been.

It was gone.

Clara locked gazes with him, his eyes wide. Then, at the same moment, they both broke into huge grins and started laughing.

"Did the flowers…" Clara had to pause to allow another spurt of giggles. "Did the flowers eat the cake?"

Still smiling, the Doctor's face hovered over the flower and poked it with his finger. It seemed innocent enough. "That, or something that lives underneath the flowers. But either way, it's taken your cake." His smile melted into a frown. "I'm sorry."

Clara beamed at him still, her laughter subsiding. "Doesn't matter, Doctor." She hugged him again, and he seemed a little more willing to receive it this time. "It's the best birthday. But if it really means that much to you, we can make another cake." She retreated to gauge his expression, which was a little brighter.

"I did enjoy it a bit…_a bit," _he emphasized when Clara smiled wider.

"Cake baking it is, then." Clara leaned back onto her hands, gazing up at the three suns in the sky. "So are you going to tell me what happened here?"

"Do you want me to?"

She could detect the eagerness in his voice. He was always willing to tell a story, and they were almost always worth listening to. "Yeah. Go on."

The Doctor inhaled a long breath, and then paused, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. "There's something I forgot… Oh!" He broke into one of his rare, genuinely warm smiles. "Happy birthday."


End file.
